Best AF P&S film camera?

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Just out of curiosity...what's the favorite autofocus point-n-shoot film camera of the RFF set? One of the Contax T series perhaps? What is out there that can get you close to the quality you might get from your interchangeable-lens RF?

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I love the quality of the images from my Olympus Stylus Epic. BUT... no aperture priority and no exposure compensation. :-(

 

[kxl]

KOnica Hexar AF or Yashica T4

 

[FrankS]

Also Contax Tvs and Leica Minilux with 40mm Summarit lens.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Nikon 35ti. It has a great 35/f2.8 lens and a lot of controls that belong in an AF SLR. And I have one! 🙂

 

[ZeissFan]

Vivitar Ultra Slim and Wide. Or is that Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim.

It's not AF, not autoexposure or autoanything, and that's what makes it so good.

I bought mine for $2.95 at the local thrift store.

 

[rbiemer]

I use either Olympus Stylus Epic or Pentax UC-1. Functionally very close to each other but I tend to use the UC-1 more mainly because it is slightly bigger and more rectangular. Easier to handle for me.
Rob

 

[Bob Michaels]

Olympus Stylus Epic because it has an advantage that few others do, you can pull it out, turn it on, and shoot entirely one handed.

A P&S is a special purpose camera for us here at RFF. It needs to be one we can simply "point" and then "shoot". I don't want to compromise that "point / shoot" ability with having to worry about anything else like setting exposure, focusing, winding, and the like. I have other cameras for that.

I have found the Stylus Epic the only camera I can use while riding a bike. (riding, not straddling the top tube) It's that one handed thing.

Oh, and the lens is very good.

 

[mcgrattan]

I haven't used some of the more expensive suggested cameras, but the Olympus Stylus Epic (mju II) is really good. The metering on it is excellent, especially when you use the spot meter, and I've had consistently great results from mine.

It would be nice if the lens was slightly faster but I don't really know what is? And aperture control would be nice.

Other than that, it's a near perfect camera. Great ergnomics, good metering, good results. Many of my favourite shots ever were taken on it.

 

[retnull]

Leica Minilux (non-zoom)

 

[Matthew Runkel]

T3

T3

Very hard to beat the Contax T3, in my opinion, and particularly the lens.

 

[mh2000]

Rollei 35 AFM has a nice feature set and a wonderful lens. I shoot my little Stylus Epic a lot though when I want something small and bang around.

 

[PMCC]

Ricoh GR1, circa 1997.

p.s. found a link:
http://photo.net/equipment/point-and-shoot/gr1

turns out Ricoh GR series are Daido Moriyama's preferred working cameras, and he usually carries a couple with him.

 

[steamer]

No one mentions the Contax T2; small enough, easy to handle, and Zeiss Sonnar lens gives image quality that is second to none.

 

[stuken]

My Stylus Epic is fantastic, and I've just come across a minilux which I've put a few rolls through, but haven't developed anything yet. The leica is everything I would want in a p&s, except it seems to have alot of trouble focusing on anything close to a flat plane. Much more trouble than my stylus, or the T4 I used to have.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I LOVED the images I got out of the Konica Hexar AF. That lens is a killer! I sold it when I mistakenly went down the DSLR rabbit hole. Now that I've returned to film, I'd buy it back in an instant if it were pocketable like my Stylus Epic.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

For me the Leica CM is hard to beat. Much better than the Minilux and also better than the Contax T. I can't compare it to the later Contax's though, I never owned them.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[steamer]

The Contax T is not point and shoot. How is the CM better than the T?

 

[PMCC]

I'm not personally familiar with the Contax T2 and Leica point-n-shoot models, nor with the Hexar AF. All reputedly worthy machines, but to my mind they tend toward the larger, heftier end of the spectrum. I do know the Contax T: it's a compact (minus flash) but dense little brick and as pointed out is no point-n-shoot. The Stylus mju and the Ricoh GR's are really small and light enough to carry in your front pants pocket, thus increasing the likelihood that you'll actually have one with you when you unexpectedly spot Elvis. In a point-n-shoot, form factor *is* function. Pocketability counts more than MTFs.

"Kind hearts are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood."

 

[__hh]

Leica Minilux (non-zoom)

I concur. Bought one of these gems from an RFF member here and I love the output.... Sometimes it makes me wonder why I bother with all the RF and SLRs.

Here's a sample

http://picasaweb.google.com/hunghang/2008Q3#5247631539079519874